Back to Normandy (2007)

I'm a Gemini, and we are often the funniest people in the room, at least in our minds. Nonetheless, armed with bravado, I decided to take my talents to a standup comedy class. Because indeed, that's all it takes to start a comedy career; and become a Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) in training… amirite? Nope. Nah. No ma'am.

It took six weeks of classes, 25 plus times walking on a stage to perfect removing the mic from the stand (it's a whole thing), and hours of journaling (followed by some therapy). Then days of writing setups and punchlines, whittling them down to a bone (every word counts and is counted), followed by several rehearsals and one excruciating practice where I forgot all my lines. All for one 4-minute set.

Finally, the day arrives; my 4-minutes of fame debuts at The Punchline in Atlanta in front of 250 of my closest strangers (comedy clubs are small, these people could literally touch the stage). I also regretfully invited four really close friends realizing this may actually eclipse the most embarrassing moment in my life (yes, I keep a list). All you need to know is that it happened at a wedding when I was in college and my mother witnessed it and would hurt herself laughing each time she thought about it…even decades later.But, I digress.

Once on stage, everything my teacher, the all-knowing Jeff Justice, taught us that didn't make sense in class absolutely did. I didn't think twice about the microphone...it really is a thing; even when I forgot a line, Jeff's voice was in my head (well, he was actually near the stage and whispered it to me). Still, I didn't throw up (I wanted to right before walking on stage) and, surprisingly, killed...meaning, I almost died from fear. But I survived!

Bound, directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, follows Corky (Gina Gershon), an ex-con turned mechanic, and Violet (Jennifer Tilly), the wife of a mobster, as they plot a scheme to steal money from the mob and run away together. Over the course of their scheme, Corky and Violet fall for one another; what follows is a thrilling, entertaining, and fun ride of deception and lies.

Bound is most notable for how fun and entertaining it is. Sure, the movie is done well technically, though nothing stands out as particularly flashy (nor does it need to.) The core of the movie lies in the wild ride it brings the audience along, told through the lens of a sexy, sultry love story. Twists and turns abound (no pun intended) in this movie, and it’s an edge-of-your-seat kind of film. The Wachowski sisters keep the audience interested at every point in the story, whether it is an action scene or a love scene. Bound is smartly written and directed so that every scene, regardless of how much is going on, feels jam-packed with tension.